The Surfari on Tuesday, September 5

I’ve been watching the surf cams for about a year now, waiting for some waves at Surfside, TX, the closest surfable beach to my Austin home. I bought my board in 2016 and so far have only had it in the fresh water of Nland Surf Park. The first time I went to NLand I was incredibly nervous about whether or not I’d be able to get up and if I was able to get up, what would happen then. It’s pretty much like riding a bike, though, and I graduated from the smaller “inside” waves of NLand to the “reef” break that I found really challenging. After 10 or so sessions over the course of a couple of years I felt pretty good most of the time on the reef waves but was and am disappointed in the experience of a man made surf spot. A lot of the things that make surfing so deep for me, paddling out for the first session of the day with the sun shining on the crest of the breaking waves or through the waves themselves if it’s a really good day, picking the right wave and getting the most out of whatever wave you pick, taking a break and sitting on the beach drinking some coffee and watching the surf, getting into some warm clothes if it’s cold….that’s what makes surfing fun for me. I think the thing that really puts me off about Nland is being on the clock and having to deal with assholes who bogart the waves. There are some “rules” at Nland but the better surfers take advantage of the less skilled and at $100 for 50 minutes of surfing that’s just not cool. So…I drove to the coast for the first time and discovered that it’s pretty fucking far. It’s an easy 4 hours each way and that’s 4 hours of boring texas country roads for the most part. I got pulled by a state trooper pretty early on and when he I asked why I thought he pulled me I said “because I was speeding.” When he asked me where I was going I pointed to my board and said “I’m headed for the coast to surf on the last possible day before I go back to work” (I was leaving the next morning for Boston/Vermont/Boston). He let me go with a warning. Three and a half hours later I pulled up at Surfside and there were actually waves! As I soon discovered they weren’t very good waves but it was a nice beach, the day was sunny, I finally had my board in salt water and I was able to catch a few waves. Unfortunately I misjudged the intensity of the sun and by the time I applied sunscreen it was too late and I got very burned. I stayed until I couldn’t function at all in the water without hurting myself, got in the car and drove the 4 hours back home. I did notice that the waves were continuous – there were no sets, just one pretty crappy wave after the next. So…paddling out involved continually punching through wave after wave until you got “outside” which is a misnomer because the waves were breaking all over the place. Inside, outside, in the middle…every fucking where. After 3 ½ hours or so my arms would not take me where I wanted to go, my board had slammed into my balls quite forcefully a couple of times, my ribs where they hit the board were sore, I had a rash on my knees that I assume came from the traction pads I put on the end of the board, I was badly burned, etc. I discovered that the tee shirt I was wearing was too baggy and I tended to step on it when I was getting up which successfully prevented me from getting up (I ordered a rash guard surf shirt yesterday), the leash tended to tangle in my legs when getting up which was also a problem. It was a learning experience but the drive is brutal. I got home about 6pm after leaving the house at 6am and the next day flew to Boston and then drove to Vermont, another 12 hour travel day. But….I’m going to do it again. Hopefully a little smarter next time. Coming up: Cezanne in Houston with Woody Witt, Sam Pankey and Daniel Dufour (9/ 21), Cleveland and Bowling Green for a Jack Petersen tribute with Rick Peckham (9/27-30) (I’m not playing for that) then a John Abercrombie tribute (10/10) where I’ll be playing with Joey Baron, Ben Street, Lage Lund and Tim Miller on a couple of tunes. I think Joe Lovano is going to join us on a couple of things. I don’t know whether to be nervous about that or not. Right now another hour to Nashville, 3 more hours to Austin, an hour home which should put me there by 11pm. That’s midnight ET which means my trip home which started with the Logan Express bus at 3pm will be a full 8 hours. Tomorrow teaching at UT 10am-2pm. Not anxious to do that but need to correct my attitude – many people would love to have my job. Which I have to admit is about as good as it gets – paid to have a guitar in my hands talking about something I love more than anything on earth: music (I’m not counting my wife and family here).